


Nightmare Eyes, Blurry Guise

by LovelyStories



Series: Contorted [1]
Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Body Dysphoria, Dissociation, Mental Instability, Multi, Schizophrenia, The terms used in the tags probably are inaccurate, sorry oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-11 03:01:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10453485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyStories/pseuds/LovelyStories
Summary: "'I’ve got nightmare eyes.'Mae Borowski glared intently at the large bathroom counter mirror in front of where she was standing. Her hands tightly gripped the smooth porcelain of the countertop, her knuckles turning white from the sheer force she used in her hold. She stood on the tips of her toes as she leaned forward, staring at her reflection ferociously, in a feral sort of state. Her eyes narrowed as she took in her reflection, pupils darting all around her face. Her short, messy navy blue with a slight maroon gradient at the tips. Her ears, peeking out from the loose hair protruding from her scalp. One of her ears had two visible indentations at the side, the scars long since healed over. Her mouth, contorted into a ravenous snarl.Oh, but her eyes....These were not hers."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Roses](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10362972) by [Acai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acai/pseuds/Acai). 



> Inspired by Acai's fic, "Roses". Idea used with permission.

“I’ve got nightmare eyes.”

Mae Borowski glared intently at the large bathroom counter mirror in front of where she was standing. Her hands tightly gripped the smooth porcelain of the countertop, her knuckles turning white from the sheer force she used in her hold. She stood on the tips of her toes as she leaned forward, staring at her reflection ferociously, in a feral sort of state. Her eyes narrowed as she took in her reflection, pupils darting all around her face. Her short, messy navy blue with a slight maroon gradient at the tips. Her ears, peeking out from the loose hair protruding from her scalp. One of her ears had two visible indentations at the side, the scars long since healed over. Her mouth, contorted into a ravenous snarl.

Oh, but her eyes.

Her reddish coppery eyes were wide, in a manic-sort of state; the illusion reflected back at her from the mirror showing those of not hers, but anothers. They seemed too out of place, they seemed wrong. Yet, there they were. Rings of color within the whites of her eyes, feeling just so foreign.

These were not hers.

The orbs affixed into her sockets were not _supposed to be there_ . Mae began to scratch at the rim of her eyes, trying to tear the pulsating sensation out from behind her eyes. The only thing preventing her from the relief she needed in order to move on with her life. Her eyes. They had to go, go, _go, go,_ **_go_ ** -

“Mae?”

The ringing in Mae’s ears came to an abrupt halt, her ragged breathing faltering for just a moment to process what was going on. And yet, the thumping in her skull remained, escalating further, if anything. Beatrice Santello, her closest and most dearest friend stood right behind the bathroom door. The measly pile of wood shapen to create a barrier between rooms.

Right now, they needed that barrier. Bea would not be able to stand to see Mae like this. She shouldn’t. She _couldn’t_ . At this point, the _pounding_ of her head and the _racing_ of her heart was surely loud enough for Bea to hear, why hasn’t she said anything?

The rattling of the doorknob, _circle_ , shook her out of her stupor. The door, _rectangle_ , was creaking as it was attempted to be moved despite its locked state. Shapes, _shapes_ , were all around her. Nothing was definable anymore, nothing had a clear line to separate everything from one another.

_It didn’t make sense_.

Mae’s eyes, **_ovals_ ** , attempted to frantically scan the room, look for something, **_anything_ ** , that could be identified by its actual, true, form. The bathtub? **_Rectangle_ ** . The mirror? **_Square_ ** . Everything wasn’t **_right_ ** . Things were being too much, she just couldn’t wrap her head around anything. Figures contorting, the mirror bringing her the dissolution of her body becoming misshapen. Her skin was gone, fur seemingly growing from her pores. Her hands twisted their odd shapes, converting into paw-like appendages. This was wrong on so many different levels. She felt like her whole being was not right. She needed to get out. She couldn’t stay like this. Nothing was making sense and she **_despised_ ** that.

A few loud thuds were coming from the door now, and within a few moments, it broke open. Beatrice, or what Mae could only **_assume_ ** was her, quickly rushed over after seeing her state. She tried to grab her and pry her off of the countertop, and Mae practically **_hissed_ ** . She tried to swipe at Bea, get her to **_just let go_ ** , but Beatrice just would not give up.

“Mae-,” she cried out, “Mae! I need to you- Stop, Mae!”

Beatrice had successfully got Mae to unlatch herself from the counter, and quickly picked her up, carrying her and making her way out of the bathroom briskly. She ran over to the two’s living room and sat her down, making sure Mae would stop trying to fight to get away, before heading over to the kitchen one room over to do _something_ . Mae had ended up taking the time she had to try and calm down and evaluate everything that had happened. For one, Bea seemingly changed, too. Her slim face getting squished and drawn out at the nose, it being comprised of, once again, _shapes_. Her chin-length, half shaven dyed teal hair had no longer been situated above her hair, it now becoming what Mae had, at first, thought was a mohawk. After thinking back to her overall appearance, she concluded that Beatrice was now a crocodile? Alligator. No, she must have been a crocodile.

Mae had closed her eyes at this point, and rubbed at where she found her temples to be. She slouched over, not feeling up to exerting any more energy, and just sat. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but she had felt weight be placed on the couch right next to her. She cracked an eyelid open halfway and saw Beatrice looking over at her, worriedly. She opened both of her eyes and stared at her. Bea stared back. Now they sat in silence, unsure of what to do.

It was at this point that the doorbell rang. Bea practically jumped up, muttering a, “Hold on,” and left Mae’s field of vision. She took this time to lean back against the couch and sink into the cushions of it. She heard footsteps and voices, ones that she recognized, come closer. They entered the room, and Mae decided to look up at them. Greggory Lee and Angus Delaney, two other friends of hers.

At first, she was only able to recognize them by their voice, but after a few moments, was able to differentiate them based off of their mannerisms and clothing. Gregg was… A fox? Maybe a dog, even. All she was able to tell was that he was, well, yellow. His snout was pointed- based off of the triangular shape she was seeing- and he had the same, familiar oval eyes as everyone else in the room. His irises, on the other hand, were pitch black. He seemed a bit shorter than Bea or Angus, but he was about the same height as Mae. He wore his typical, black, leather jacket over a simple grey t-shirt, along with some jeans and boots. Angus, though, was very round. And brown. He was a bear. His glasses were the same, circular shape, but his eyes were literally impossible to see behind them- the lenses were tinted to a ridiculous extent. Just _another_ meaningless negativity to whatever was going on. Nothing made sense, still.

“So, Mae-” Angus began tentatively.

“I don’t know!” Mae blurted out, furry digits stretching down her bottom eyelids in what was a stressful manner. She buried her face in her paws, nails clawing into her forehead.

The three others shared an uneasy look, unsure what to do in terms of further actions. Gregg scooted forward in the lime green armchair he sat in and spoke up, “What… What do you mean, ‘you don’t know’?”

Mae slouched over once more, paws dropping down from her face in utter exhaustion, “Things aren’t looking… _normal_ … right now.”

Bea tilted her head, face scrunching up, “Was this… Was this what you were talking about a while ago?”

Gregg and Angus both looked at Beatrice questionably, seemingly not knowing what she meant. They shared a brief glance, and Bea cut it off, eyes turning down cast. Gregg cleared his throat uncomfortably, and Angus turned to look at Mae, “Mae, is there something important you’d want to tell us…?”

Mae’s figure sagged further into the couch, feeling defeated, “I don’t know…” she murmured, voice coming out as a slur. She refused to make eye contact, she didn’t want to see any shapes, and she _especially_ didn’t want to see these people who were supposed to be her friends. They seemed completely different, but yet the same. It made her feel conflicted, she wanted to put her guards up against these strangers, but she also wanted to spill out everything because they were _also_ her friends.

Mae’s gaze drifted slowly up, half-expecting them to look the same. Angus, with his short, wavy brown hair. Tall and proud with his presence, but reserved with his overall being. No, he wasn’t looking right, either. Gregg, short in stature with his slightly spiked, golden yellow hair- Once again, was completely different. Bea especially unnerved her. Bea just wasn’t right, she just made Mae uncomfortable, yet…

“Mae, how are you feeling?”

Beatrice tended to be quick to action- brash, even. This, though, felt sincere. Perhaps even intimate to an extent. Personal, close, private- completely unlike anything the Bea she _knew_ would typically act. And yet, this was still Bea- she knew it from deep inside her bones.

Her, twisted and unnatural bones, yes, but still _her_ bones.

…

Even if she didn’t feel very comfortable with them.

...

“Bad? I don’t know. I just feel really sick- like I want to throw up, but not _sick sick_? Things, uh, are just feeling really sucky right now,” she responded, unsure of herself.

“Do you need to go to the doctor?” Angus asked.

“God, please, no. We all know that Doctor Hank’s physical treatment is subpar at best! He has got to be the least qualified doctor out there,” Bea objected, going off on a tangent.

“I think Angus meant a better one? Maybe outside of Possum Springs…?” Gregg hesitantly brought up, glancing over at Angus, who gave a curt nod in response.

Bea ran a hand through her… “hair”... and sighed, “My car is low on gas and the closest town is more than two hours away. Not to mention, my next paycheck isn’t coming for another month, so…”

“I’ll pay for the gas,” Gregg offered, which to Bea smiled back, toothily.

Mae shifted uncomfortably, “You guys don’t have to do all this, you know…”

“Mae,” Bea stated, response in a hardened tone of voice, “You told me you don’t see things normally when you get to points like this.”

“She, what? What do you mean? Mae, I-” Gregg asked, puzzled by the sudden new knowledge, “Mae, why wouldn’t you tell us _all_? We could have done something to help-”

“Gregg, you need to stop, Mae doesn’t need to have any unneeded guilt put on her shoulders right now. It’s not her fault for whatever is going on,” Angus broke in through Gregg’s rant, to which Gregg closed his mouth tightly.

“I, uh,” Mae slowly began, “I thought I was getting it under control. What with the treatment I was under for my anger issues… But I guess that really wasn’t doing much in the long run.”

Bea turned to look at Mae, this knowledge seemingly new to her, “You said that you were getting treatment for _this_ , how is _this_ and _that_ anything alike?”

“That’s what the doctor diagnosed my problems as,” Mae mumbled, voice wavering in a manner making her feel uncertain about her words.

“Yes, and Doctor Hank gave you a stupid journal to write in for your _treatment_. He’s just cheating you of your money by suggesting a cheap method that probably won’t even really do anything,” Bea replied, snarkily.

“I mean, it helps, I guess…” Mae trailed off.

“With _stress_. Mae, you need to have proper treatment for this,” Beatrice urged, tone strained.

“I agree with Beatrice, you need to be looked at by a proper doctor. Maybe therapy may help? I’m not sure to what extent your problems are at, but from what Bea said over the phone…” Angus added.

“Mae, we care about you, and Bea said you were acting like an animal…” Gregg mentioned, hesitantly.

“Well, maybe I _am_ one!” Mae replied, squeezing her eyes tightly, “All of _you_ **_look_ ** like one!”

A silence filled the room, choking all of them in the thick atmosphere. Everyone tensed up, and Mae’s breathing was a bit ragged. She risked a glance, seeing her friends’ staring at her, startled.

Angus swallowed, “...What?”

Mae felt her face scrunch up and she averted her gaze down to the carpet, her feet toying with it in a nervous manner. She sat in silence, contemplating her decision, and she attempted to muster out a weak answer, “I…” She felt her throat closing up, “You all don’t…” Mae’s voice trailed off and she didn’t finished. Her eyes were watering and she didn’t think she would be able to fully explain it. She bowed her head in shame and felt small shivers wrack her thin frame.

“Mae, God-” Bea spoke in a solemn voice, “Are you… Are you okay?”

The sound of a weight shifting from one of the pieces of furniture in front of Mae was heard, and she heard relatively heavy footsteps approach her. They stopped when the person was in front of her, and they kneeled down to her chin level. Mae tilted her chin up a little to see who it was, and saw Angus, grimacing, conflicted.

“Would _you_ want to see someone about this?” Angus asked, slowly. He stayed still, and everyone was quiet as they waited for an answer.

Mae gave a weak nod and let out a hoarse answer, “Yeah… I think-” She gazed at the people in front of her, “I think that would be for the best.”

Mae felt herself relax, and so did her friends. They looked relieved that she was willing to do something about this. They didn’t quite understand, and they didn’t know if they ever would- but they were willing to do their best to, for Mae.

Angus let a small smile frame his face, and he stood up cautiously, not wanting any sudden action to alert Mae. He offered a hand, and she took it, both standing up. Mae slouched over a bit, still, worn out from the whole ordeal, but fixed her posture when she felt Bea elbow her. All of them stood together, content for now, and they didn’t quite know what to do from there.

“It’s pretty late, we should probably go,” Gregg mentioned, looking out of the gap in the window’s blinds. He turned to face Beatrice and Mae right after, though, “You two feel up to band practice tomorrow? Something normal for a change?”

Bea looked over at Mae, face gentle, “What do you think?”

Mae blinked slowly a few times and felt a smile creep up her face, “Yeah… Yeah, I think that would be good.”


	2. Important Information

Hello, everyone! I'd like to thank you all for the overwhelming support on this fic! After considering my options, I decided to make this a series rather than a multi-chapter fic so I can mess around with different time periods without ruining the overall flow of it all. My next addition to this series is in the making, and I'll try to get it out soon! Once again, thank you for the support!

**Author's Note:**

> This was actually written for a school assignment??? I don't think this was my best work, but I hope you enjoyed it! I'm willing to continue it if you want me to! I don't know if I really did justice to the characters, or wrote about these topics well? Let me know anything I can do to improve! I do accept requests! My Tumblr is https://sewlovelyyy.tumblr.com/


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